While all the players who were named as Golden Ball nominees were deserving of their place, there were others who had decent claims to a spot, too
Always a highly-anticipated day in the football calendar, the nominees for the 2024 Ballon d’Or and its associated prizes were announced on Wednesday, September 4, with 60 players in the running to claim a Golden Ball across the men’s and women’s awards.
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr and Manchester City midfielder Rodri are regarded as the favourites to claim the men’s prize, while Jude Bellingham could also make a case given his form for Madrid and England last season. The trio were joined on the men’s shortlist by the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland.
On the women’s side, 2023 winner Aitana Bonmati is the favourite to defend her crown after guiding Barcelona to a brilliant quadruple as well as winning the Nations League with Spain. She faces competition from club-mates such as Caroline Graham Hansen and Alexia Putellas, as well as a host of the United States’ Olympic gold medallists, including attacking trio Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson.
But despite the size of the shortlists for the main prizes, there are always players who miss out whose performances over the past 12 months deserve recognition. So who were those players in 2024? GOAL breaks down the year’s biggest Ballon d’Or snubs…
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